Chapter 309: Flashing East and West (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 309: Flashing East and West (4)
At first, he doubted his own ears.
Faced with such a vulgar insult—one fit only for commoners—Hoffman trembled violently, making no effort to hide his rising fury.
"How dare you speak such low-class words to the president of the Golden Bank! Count Fabius, you have truly lost your mind. Just because you follow Roman Dmitry now, you seem to have completely forgotten how you fawned and flattered me just a few years ago. You are the one who should shut your mouth before I tear you to pieces."
It was exactly as he said.
Count Fabius and Hoffman were not strangers.
Though it had been a brief, passing encounter, Count Fabius had once gone out of his way to leave a good impression on Hoffman.
"Dumbass."
Count Fabius smirked.
Crossing his legs and tapping his foot, he looked up at Hoffman.
"Hoffman. You're the one who doesn't understand the situation. Dmitry didn't bow down to the Kronos Empire; instead, we brought them to their knees. So who the hell do you think you are—a mere nobody—acting like you have the upper hand? Don't delude yourself. No matter how great the power of the gold coins in your hand may be, you know very well that money alone cannot solve every problem in this world."
Screeech.
He pushed his chair back and stood up.
Because he usually wore a smiling face, it was easy to overlook, but his surprisingly robust physique exuded a suffocating tension.
"Dmitry is drawing a line right now. We are being very gentlemanly. But if you keep spouting hostile remarks against Dmitry, we will have no choice but to make a decision. Just as we slaughtered the forces of the Kronos Empire, we will choose a power far more terrifying than gold coins to ensure your end."
He took a step forward.
Standing face-to-face, the two men stared at each other.
"Don't tell me you're actually relying on the Golden Knights waiting outside for your command? Pfft, of course not. The president of the Golden Bank couldn't possibly be that stupid. Then what on earth makes you act so cocky? If Dmitry decides to assassinate you, do you really think the power of gold coins can stop it?"
"……?!"
Hoffman's eyes shook.
This was completely different from what he had expected.
He thought Fabius would back down if he raised his voice a little, but the Count stood his ground like a man with nothing to lose.
Furthermore...
‘Fabius is right. The Golden Bank cannot stop Dmitry from assassinating me.’
Dmitry.
Even excluding Roman Dmitry, they possessed monstrous experts like Chris and Kevin. There was no way experts hired with mere money could stop them. Hadn't even the Kronos Empire, the strongest nation on the continent, suffered the humiliation of losing Rascal and Kortas because they couldn't stop Roman Dmitry's guerrilla tactics?
He was flustered.
Count Fabius.
The man once called the Raccoon of Cairo, who had now sworn loyalty to Dmitry.
He was not supposed to be such an aggressive person.
Hoffman could not understand why a man who used to act as a parasite to power and flatter others was acting so extremely. His eyes trembled. Though his pride kept him from looking away, he knew all too well that defeat was already staring him in the face.
Step.
One more step.
He closed the distance.
Standing close enough to feel each other's breath, Count Fabius looked down at Hoffman with a fierce expression.
"Hey."
People used to say:
Count Fabius...
...the Raccoon of Dmitry, was the epitome of being strong against the weak and weak against the strong.
Therefore...
"If you don't plan on waging war against Dmitry, lower your eyes, you bastard."
To Fabius, Hoffman was classified as "the weak."
*
Hoffman left.
Watching his retreating back as he practically fled, Viscount Vincent could not bring himself to say a single word.
‘Damn it.’
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
His original plan had been to raise his own value by making Hoffman and Fabius compete, but he never expected Count Fabius to push back so aggressively. His heart pounded at the scene that had just unfolded before his eyes. Seeing Fabius treat Hoffman like some back-alley loan shark shocked him to the core.
It was brutal.
Only then did he see the true face of Dmitry.
‘I chose the wrong opponent. Dmitry already possesses all the qualifications of a great power.’
Like a shrimp caught in a fight between whales, Viscount Vincent shrank back, trying to make himself invisible.
Terrified that the sparks might fly his way, he couldn't even bring himself to awkwardly ask Count Fabius to leave.
However...
Thud.
Count Fabius sat back down.
As Vincent stared in bewilderment, Count Fabius, who had looked so fierce just a moment ago, smiled warmly.
"Please, sit. Now that the nuisance is gone, why don't we, the real players, have a proper conversation?"
"……W-What do you mean by..."
Viscount Vincent could only blink, frozen in a half-seated posture.
It felt as if his brain had short-circuited.
The sudden shift in Count Fabius's attitude was one thing, but he couldn't comprehend what kind of conversation they were supposed to have.
Count Fabius spoke.
"Dmitry is not such a harsh nation. Severing ties with the Golden Bank will directly affect the Vincent Family, so do you really think we would only demand your 'trust'? Naturally, we must compensate you accordingly. Of course, if you had chosen the Golden Bank in the first place, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. But as I said, Dmitry rewards its allies handsomely. We are different from those thug-like bastards who only flap their lips and promise a future they can't keep."
His attitude had completely flipped.
He was so incredibly friendly that it was hard to even remember the man who had been roaring menacingly just moments ago.
"Viscount Vincent. Please, tell me honestly what you desire from Dmitry."
Why was it?
Despite the warm hospitality, Viscount Vincent felt a chill run down his spine.
The Raccoon of Dmitry.
Because he now knew what kind of beast lurked behind that smiling face, Viscount Vincent felt profoundly relieved that he had not made an enemy of Dmitry.
*
Hoffman returned to his headquarters.
Although the magnificent building and the servants attending to him with the utmost respect welcomed his safe return, the overwhelming sense of helplessness made him blind to his surroundings. As the president of the Golden Bank, having lived his entire life as a man of power, Hoffman had never experienced such humiliation.
Always, people had been favorable to him.
Due to the Golden Bank's nature of maintaining neutrality, he held no noble title, yet nobles of any nation bowed their heads to the prestige of the Golden Bank's president. The Kronos Empire was no exception. Even the greatest empire on the continent acknowledged him.
Yet none of that worked against Dmitry.
He was furious.
This matter would not end with a single humiliation.
Once the rumors regarding Dmitry spread, it would only be a matter of time before the Golden Bank's prestige crumbled.
‘My ancestors said: if you are ever blocked by a practical problem that cannot be solved even with money, then uncover the secret of the Golden Bank passed down through generations. To think such a thing would happen during my tenure as president.’
He gnashed his teeth.
Though he felt humiliated and miserable, Hoffman wanted to take revenge by any means necessary.
Roman Dmitry and Fabius.
He would tear them to shreds.
He would prove to the world that the Golden Bank never forgets a grudge.
He walked across the room.
He opened the safe behind the bookshelf in his office, revealing the secret box of the Golden Bank that had been passed down through generations.
Shring.
He picked up a dagger.
Pricking his finger to draw blood, he let a drop fall into the indentation on the lock.
Then...
Whoosh—
Whoooosh!
A blue light flared up.
Though it flickered like fire, it emitted no heat. With trembling eyes, Hoffman carefully opened the box. Inside was a short inscription and a magic communicator that could connect to an unknown destination.
Among the mysteries of the continent, people had always questioned the sudden emergence of the Golden Bank.
They couldn't understand where the bank had come from or how it had amassed such immense wealth.
However, there was a firm belief that the first president was certainly no ordinary being.
Hoffman picked up the magic communicator.
And then...
"……Lord Alexander. Your servant finally greets you."
The secret of his ancestors.
Hoffman finally faced the true purpose of the Golden Bank's existence.
*
One month later.
Time flew by.
As the time promised by Roman Dmitry approached, Marquis Valentino visited the Dmitry estate early in the morning.
7:00 AM.
"Has Lord Roman Dmitry come out of the workshop yet?"
"He has not come out yet. If you wait in the drawing room, I will contact you as soon as he does."
"I understand. You must contact me first, without fail."
At Hans's words, Marquis Valentino showed an anxious, desperate expression.
As he kept looking back, his face held a wistful longing, as if he were waiting for his first love.
8:00 AM.
"Has he still not come out?"
"Yes."
9:00 AM.
"Still...?"
"Yes."
10:00 AM.
"Could it be..."
"He has still not come out."
Every hour, Marquis Valentino sought out Hans.
As time passed, his face grew increasingly disappointed, but he had absolutely no intention of giving up or going back. To Marquis Valentino, the month spent waiting for Roman Dmitry felt like an eternity. It was agonizing. Because he was absolutely certain that Roman Dmitry would create a masterpiece, he had spent a painful, patient month locked in his room, waiting only for this day.
Today was the day to see the fruits of that labor.
Though he had grown quite thin from the long wait, his eyes shone with intense anticipation.
"I can't wait in the drawing room anymore. I will wait right in front of the workshop. I'll wait until Lord Roman Dmitry opens the door and steps out, so please, guide me there."
"That is impossible."
"No, I'm just saying I'll wait there..."
"I am sorry, but I cannot grant this request."
Hans refused to compromise.
The area in front of the workshop was strictly off-limits to unauthorized personnel.
Marquis Valentino was forced to pass the time in the drawing room. Though he had arrived early in the morning, the sun was already setting outside the window before he knew it. An ominous feeling began to creep in. After an endless wait, the door finally opened, but his ecstatic face instantly fell in disappointment.
The man who entered was Hans.
"It seems you will have to wait a few more days. Why don't you return to Cairo for now? I will contact you as soon as Young Master Roman comes out."
"No! I will not go back!"
Marquis Valentino was resolute.
He said, "I will secure lodging in Dmitry and wait. So, contact me the very moment Lord Roman Dmitry comes out."
Valentino.
His relentless obsession ended the day with absolutely nothing to show for it.
*
A few days passed.
With the scheduled time having come and gone, Hans couldn't help but feel worried.
‘Did something happen?’
In the past, Roman had secluded himself in the workshop many times, but he had rarely exceeded the scheduled deadline.
It was ominous.
Since Marquis Valentino visited Dmitry every day to ask about Roman Dmitry's well-being, Hans's ominous imagination grew wilder. When about five days had passed like this, deciding he could wait no longer, Hans brought Felix along to check on Roman without violating his orders.
"Lord Felix. Could you use magic to check what is happening inside the workshop?"
"Understood."
It was a last resort.
Thus, they arrived at the workshop.
Felix immediately channeled his mana.
‘Sensing.’
It wasn't a special spell.
He was simply sending mana inside to feel the state of the ambient mana within the workshop.
If there were no issues, the mana would be full of vitality, which would at least confirm whether Roman was alive.
However...
Felix's eyes widened.
The moment his mana seeped into the workshop, a shocking sensation transmitted back to him.
"……W-What is this?"
Inside and outside the workshop—they were completely different worlds.
While the outside was incredibly peaceful, inside, an immense amount of mana was undergoing a massive explosion.
"……Just what on earth is happening in there?"
With trembling eyes, Felix stared at the workshop, completely dazed.